Alexander Isak

[TheBrownBottle]

20 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Maybe but this is a different question to whether we should sell him. 
 

PS we will be challenging. 

I'm happy if we're challening for the European Cup and league title shortly - Isak is 25 and so we'd need to be doing that this season or within the next season or so.  Not seeing it myself tbh.

[nufcjmc]

21 minutes ago, wyn davies said:

Whilst scored a brilliant goal,thought he still  looked a bit lethargic, time will tell over the coming games, still expect someone to come for him in January though to test our resolve especially if Europe out of the window.

Not sure i saw the same thing watching the game he was all over the place coming for the ball and trying to make things happen the assist for gordan was selfless and he kept chasing lost causes pressuring the keeper. Was an much better performance from him. 

 

 

[Conjo]

7 minutes ago, Big River said:

 

this is exactly it. it's a simple game, get your best player on the ball as much as possible, see what happens.

 

that said, he was working noticeably harder than usual last night. dropping in, finding space, he seemed bang up for it.

 

Agreed. I think getting Isak more involved in general play has been just as much an individual issue on Isaks behalf as it has been for how Howe sets us up. I just refuse to think Howe has been instructing him to only play on the shoulder of the defenders.

[Vaj]

What a difference it makes having a creative player in Bruno further up the pitch instead of Longstaff. Tonali will be able to play the deep lying role as well as Bruno in my opinion and now we can unleash Bruno further up the pitch which will get the best out of Isak, who is absolutely incredible when given the chances. Just a shame it has taken Howe until now to really give this a go, as I feel that if we went with this as soon as Tonali was available we would have more points on the board. 

[Bondedcrown]

54 minutes ago, wyn davies said:

Whilst

55 minutes ago, wyn davies said:

Whilst scored a brilliant goal,thought he still  looked a bit lethargic, time will tell over the coming games, still expect someone to come for him in January though to test our resolve especially if Europe out of the window.

scored a brilliant goal,thought he still  looked a bit lethargic, time will tell over the coming games, still expect someone to come for him in January though to test our resolve especially if Europe out of the window.

 

[Menace]

This lethargic stuff is tiresome. Hardly any number 9s play full 90 every week, unfortunately Isak does. If he was managed better fitness wise we'd see far better results.

[TRon]

2 hours ago, Conjo said:

 

Probably yeah. Key thing for me was that he managed to get himself more involved in the build up. Great passes to play through Hall and Murphy most notably, but rarely seen him have the ball as much in general as he had yesterday.

 

He's a striker primarily, I do think the onus should be on other players to get the ball in zones where he can be most dangerous. Just because he can do brilliant stuff dropping deeper, doesn't mean that he should be expected to every game. There'll be games where for whatever reason he doesn't see much of the ball, that's when you need the midfielders and wide forwards to get the supply in.

[Roids]

12 minutes ago, TRon said:

 

He's a striker primarily, I do think the onus should be on other players to get the ball in zones where he can be most dangerous. Just because he can do brilliant stuff dropping deeper, doesn't mean that he should be expected to every game. There'll be games where for whatever reason he doesn't see much of the ball, that's when you need the midfielders and wide forwards to get the supply in.

Correct take. Not to mention, he's the best finisher at the club (and one of the best in the league).

 

Onus should be on the rest of the team to create at least 3 solid opportunities for him per game. 

[Conjo]

He can drop deeper and be more involved in general play while also getting into goalscoring positions. The two are not exclusive.... 

[Ikon]

Strikers are near impossible to find, never mind strikers that you know willl deliver in the PL, like guaranteed. You could buy a hot and hyped striker from abroad in crazy form and it’s still not a guarantee despite spending say 70-80m or more. You see midfielders going for around 100m these days. I don’t want him sold but IF we have to then I’d just laugh and ignore bids below 140m. 

[Lush Vlad]

1 hour ago, TRon said:

 

He's a striker primarily, I do think the onus should be on other players to get the ball in zones where he can be most dangerous. Just because he can do brilliant stuff dropping deeper, doesn't mean that he should be expected to every game. There'll be games where for whatever reason he doesn't see much of the ball, that's when you need the midfielders and wide forwards to get the supply in.

 

Harry Kane is an outrageously good goal scorer.  But for years has also been extremely good with his passing and vision and dropping into pockets of space a bit deeper.  Like Conjo says, they're not mutually exclusive.  If anything, he looks more dangerous when he's dropping in and out.  It's what caused so much confusion with Liverpool's back 4.  

 

He'd come short, he'd pull off onto Gomez instead of VVD and vice versa, he'd get in that full back/CB channel quite a bit, he'd look to go behind, he'd stand offside and just ghost back in without defenders realising.  It's the most I can remember him being involved in a game overall and coincidentally, we played extremely well.  

 

Long way to go.  But I think and hope with the sort of new look midfield and playing wide men that want to go beyond him when they have the chance.  It will mean we consistently get the best out of him.  

[nufc123]

Such a joy watching him when hes on it like yesterday. Not isolated, and running at the defence again and again. Van Dijk and co had so much trouble with him.

 

 

Edited December 5 by nufc123

[TRon]

56 minutes ago, Lush Vlad said:

 

Harry Kane is an outrageously good goal scorer.  But for years has also been extremely good with his passing and vision and dropping into pockets of space a bit deeper.  Like Conjo says, they're not mutually exclusive.  If anything, he looks more dangerous when he's dropping in and out.  It's what caused so much confusion with Liverpool's back 4.  

 

He'd come short, he'd pull off onto Gomez instead of VVD and vice versa, he'd get in that full back/CB channel quite a bit, he'd look to go behind, he'd stand offside and just ghost back in without defenders realising.  It's the most I can remember him being involved in a game overall and coincidentally, we played extremely well.  

 

Long way to go.  But I think and hope with the sort of new look midfield and playing wide men that want to go beyond him when they have the chance.  It will mean we consistently get the best out of him.  

 

I think Isak does already do the drop deep or move wide stuff though, just he doesn't get the ball as often in some games because our build up is poor around him. I thought Tonali made a massive difference when he was snapping at their players and along with Bruno and Joelinton, we weren't just winning the ball, we were providing early delivery to Isak, be that in advanced positions or deeper.

[HawK]

Isak dropping deep only works when we have runners from midfield and out wide moving into the spaces created. Saw that quite a bit yesterday and lead directly to when Murphy hit the post.

 

Big fan of it, personally. Dragging players out of position, particularly defenders, has got to be a big part of Isak's game because he gets marked and denied possession as a top priority by most teams due to his fantastic skill and long range shooting ability.

[AyeDubbleYoo]

If there's any legs in this project over the next 5 years then we should keep Isak, make him our highest paid player ever and build the team around him. 

 

For all the PSR chat we're very close to having an excellent first team. 

[Paully]

He was unplayable at times last night - he’s an absolute superstar! 

[nufc123]

31 minutes ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

If there's any legs in this project over the next 5 years then we should keep Isak, make him our highest paid player ever and build the team around him. 

 

For all the PSR chat we're very close to having an excellent first team. 

A top RW will transform us, but we have been saying that for two seasons now. Lets hope our purples are still here when we finally get one.

[Kanj]

1 hour ago, AyeDubbleYoo said:

If there's any legs in this project over the next 5 years then we should keep Isak, make him our highest paid player ever and build the team around him. 

 

For all the PSR chat we're very close to having an excellent first team. 

 

Build the thing around Isak, Tonali, Botman and Hall. 

[duo]

Showed what he can do when you pass the ball to his feet

[BonesJones]

 

[duo]

Hands off 

[Kanj]

Alex playing like he did v Liverpool hopefully becomes the standard by which he sets for himself, flying all over the attacking end of the pitch and taking the match over. First time I’ve seen him just mentally say “I’ve got this” and he was absolutely everywhere. All action total centre forward performance. Watching the match back I’d argue it’s been ages since I’ve seen someone do that to Liverpool and for it to be our main man felt very special. 

[TRon]

3 minutes ago, Kanj said:

Alex playing like he did v Liverpool hopefully becomes the standard by which he sets for himself, flying all over the attacking end of the pitch and taking the match over. First time I’ve seen him just mentally say “I’ve got this” and he was absolutely everywhere. All action total centre forward performance. Watching the match back I’d argue it’s been ages since I’ve seen someone do that to Liverpool and for it to be our main man felt very special. 

 

I think Liverpool fans must dread seeing him in the line up, seems to score against them every time. He's made VVD his bitch you could say.

[Gazzaschicken]

On 05/12/2024 at 11:50, AyeDubbleYoo said:

Where will we finish in the league if we lose Isak and invest the money? 

Top 4 consistently 

[Myleftboot]

1 hour ago, Gazzaschicken said:

Top 4 consistently 

Of the championship.